About:

“U” is the 2nd full length album from Ap Ducal on Weisskalt Records. Ap Ducal is the solo musical project of Camilo Palma.

Moody and atmospheric with a nocturnal pulse, “U” is composed of 4 nostalgic experimental ambient tracks drawn from the deep legacy of post-punk and new wave with the silhouette of jazz and the spirit of free improvisation. Sonically, the music is a direct continuation of Palma’s previous work but with a thematically more personal approach. Recorded between November 2022 to February 2023, the majority of the tracks were done in a single take.

The album scintillates with elegant inclusions from Chilean musician Sebastián Román (Persona RS) whom Palma worked in collaboration with. These unique details contributed to defining the album’s sound without overcomplicating the musical delivery. The mastering by Nes Rodríguez (BYM Records) brought warmth and analogue texture, giving the music a spectral richness. These additions enhanced the record’s pre-existing nuances.

The finishing touch to the album was the playful but minimal cover art created by Trinidad Davanzo (Still Life Stylist and Set Designer), a collage of objects collected from her joint home with Palma, based in Berlin.

The single "UU" is scheduled for release on 2 February followed by the full album "U" release on 16 February 2024.



History:

Ap Ducal began in 2012 as the independent musical project of Camilo Palma, based on improvised live sessions, atmospheric textures and certain kinds of soundtrack music. Palma has been a band member in Mutrone (Le Rock Psicophonique), Fulin Lawen (ETCS Records) and a live band member in Föllakzoid (Sacred Bones).


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Reviews:

"Visioning a saturated spectral display of waveforms, moving bass lines and acid turned dials Camilo Palma (under his twelve year running project alter ego Ap Ducal) manages to blend kosmische and early synthesizer music with the German New Wave and post-punk genres, and various other cosmic electronics on his new succinct, minimalist entitled album U.

Collaborating with the Chilean musician Sebastián Román (otherwise known as Persona RS), Palma unites two sounds, two crafts to a fizzled, metallic filament cold wave soundtrack that moves between soft deep curves on the radar to the motorik and interstellar. Amongst the analogue electronics, the synthesized algorithms, the oft four-to-the-floor beat, and the paddled, rotor-bladed and tubular rhythms there’s echoes of Bernard Szajner, Sky Records, Heiko Maiko, Ulrich Schnauss, Michael Rothar, Eat Lights Become Lights, Basic Channel and Leonidas. ‘UUUU’ is a little different however: reminding me a bit of a Goblin Italo-Giallo horror soundtrack merged with the icy distillations and peregrinations of Edgar Froese; a bit of mystique, the occult and cold airy vacuums folded within the cold wave calculations.

Cosmic Couriers of a kind, the sonic partners on this forward propulsion make kosmiche and krautrock influences dance to a filter of tape music and minimalist techno. I’d say it was a successful conversion of all those inspirations/influences; making for a roaming and hypnotic experience." - Dominic Valvona, Monolith Cocktail

monolithcocktail.com

"AP DUCAL project with its new release is a piece of good addictive and freely flowing music that can absorb you completely. It swallowed me up and as I delved into it, and it suddenly ended, leaving me somewhat unfulfilled. It makes you crave for more and this alone is a proof of its greatness." - Jarosław Mak, Anxious Musick Magazine

anxiousmagazine.pl/recenzje/ap-ducal-u


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Streaming:
bit.ly/apducal_u_streaming

Music video of the single "UU":
bit.ly/apducal_uu

Music visualiser of the track "U" by Musicology:
bit.ly/apducal_u_musicvisualiser

Press Release:
weisskaltrecords.com/ap-ducal-u-press-release

Social Media:
www.instagram.com/ap_ducal
www.instagram.com/weisskalt